Effective TCP/IP Programming

Book excerpt: Programming in TCP/IP can seem deceptively simple. Nonetheless, many network programmers recognize that their applications could be much more robust. Effective TCP/IP Programming is designed to boost programmers to a higher level of competence by focusing on the protocol suite's more subtle features and techniques. It gives you the know-how you need to produce highly effective TCP/IP programs. In forty-four concise, self-contained lessons, this book offers experience-based tips, practices, and rules of thumb for learning high-performance TCP/IP programming techniques. Moreover, it shows you how to avoid many of TCP/IP's most common trouble spots. Effective TCP/IP Programming offers valuable advice on such topics as: Exploring IP addressing, subnets, and CIDR Preferring the sockets interface over XTI/TLI Using two TCP connections Making your applications event-driven Using one large write instead of multiple small writes Avoiding data copying Understanding what TCP reliability really means Recognizing the effects of buffer sizes Using tcpdump, traceroute, netstat, and ping effectively Numerous examples demonstrate essential ideas and concepts. Skeleton code and a library of common functions allow you to write applications without having to worry about routine chores. Through individual tips and explanations, you will acquire an overall understanding of TCP/IP's inner workings and the practical knowledge needed to put it to work. Using Effective TCP/IP Programming, you'll speed through the learning process and quickly achieve the programming capabilities of a seasoned pro.